Government of Canada, VIA Rail to build new station for Smiths Falls

Dean Del Mastro,
Member of Parliament for Peterborough and Chairman of the All Party Rail Caucus
Parliamentary Group, on behalf on Rob Merrifield, Minister of State (Transport),
and VIA's Senior Director, Real Estate, Magdy Fahmy announced the construction
of a new station and rail line upgrading for Smiths Falls, Ont. Made possible
by the Government of Canada's investments of close to C$21 million for major
rail infrastructure work, the projects will increase and improve the safety,
frequency and speed of passenger rail service all along VIA's busy
Toronto-Ottawa route. MP Del Mastro and Senior Director Fahmy were joined at
the announcement by Smiths Falls Mayor Dennis Staples and Canadian Pacific Vice-President of Government Affairs Michael Murphy.

"The Government of
Canada understands how important VIA's rail service is to Smiths Falls and
hundreds of other communities and rail travelers across Ontario," said MP Del
Mastro. "By investing in rail services and facilities such as these here in
Smiths Falls, we are underlining our commitment to VIA's capital renewal as a
wise way to stimulate economic activity and job creation, contribute to
environmental sustainability and improve Canada's passenger rail system for
years to come."

VIA's new Smiths
Falls station will be fully accessible and located just north of downtown. With
its distinctive tower, the new station has been designed to blend harmoniously
with the historic character and railway legacy of Smiths Falls. It will provide
easy passenger access, ample parking and room for future growth. The new
location will also reduce schedule conflicts between VIA passenger and Canadian
Pacific freight trains at the old site, which is in the middle of a junction
between four busy CP lines and VIA's Smiths Falls Subdivision to Ottawa. The
construction of the new Smiths Falls station is due to be completed at the end
of this year.

The rail
infrastructure upgrading began recently on CP's Brockville Subdivision, which
is the route of VIA's heavily-used Toronto-Ottawa trains. The project,
scheduled to be completed at the end of 2010, includes two new passing sidings
between Smiths Falls and Brockville, a new Centralized Traffic Control signal
system, upgraded protection at rail/road grade crossings and strategic sections
of safety fencing.

"Smiths Falls'
connection with and affection for the railways goes back to 1859, when the
Brockville & Ottawa's first train steamed into town," said Mayor Staples. "It
brought with it so many opportunities for this town to grow and prosper. I'm
convinced these VIA projects can and will do the same today.

VIA's Smiths Falls
projects are closely linked with other work that is now, or will soon be, under
way throughout the Quebec-Windsor Corridor, which generates almost 90 percent
of VIA's ridership and revenue. Other corridor projects include similar
upgrading of the VIA-owned Ottawa-Smiths Falls line and Canadian National's
Montreal-Toronto main line. These projects combined will lead to increases in
VIA train safety, frequency and speed.

The construction of
VIA's new Smiths Falls station is part of the $516-million capital program
announced by the Government of Canada for VIA Rail in 2007. This investment is
stimulating job creation, skills development and private sector activity across
the country. Additional infrastructure projects are aimed at improving service
quality and cost efficiency at other points across VIA's coast-to-coast route
network.